Dimensions of Women’s Empowerment in Prevention of Domestic Violence: A Qualitative Study in Iran

Abstract

Background: Empowerment is a key goal in anti-violence programs against women that can empower women against violence in a variety of situations and minimize its negative consequences. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify the dimensions of women's empowerment in prevention of domestic violence (PDV) in Iranian women.Methods: In this qualitative study, an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used and conventional content analysis was carried out. Thirty-one participants (fifteen professionals and sixteen married women) were selected by purposeful sampling. Data were gathered through 21 individual semi-constructed interviews and two five-person focus group discussions in 2019. Guba and Lincoln’s criteria for establishing trustworthiness were explored.Results: After the data analysis, multiple revisions and merging of 892 primary codes based on similarity were led to the extraction of 18 sub-categories. Then, five main-categories were identified as dimensions of women's empowerment in PDV, which were: marital social skills, knowledge, perceptions & self-evaluations, agency in family finance and economic independence, spiritual health, and access to resources.Conclusion: The results of this study provide a comprehensive view of the dimensions of women's empowerment in PDV in Iran. Participants cited the marital skills, knowledge, perceptions and self-evaluation as most important dimensions in facilitating women's empowerment to deal effectively with domestic violence. These findings can be used as a basis for planning interventions to reduce violence against women.